Deck total
4 Aces (44) + 4 Tens (40) + 4 Kings (16) + 4 Queens (12) + 4 Jacks (8) = 120 points. The 9, 8, and 7 in every suit carry no point value.
Round flow
Deal to first lead
- Deal 6 each, 2 to the blind. Five hands of six cards (30) plus a 2-card blind face down in the middle (32 total). Deal in packets, dealer's choice of pattern.
- Pick or pass. Starting left of the dealer, each player in turn either picks (takes the blind) or passes. The first to pick becomes the picker. If everyone passes, it's a Leaster.
- Picker takes the blind & buries 2. The picker now holds 8 cards, then lays away (buries) any 2 face down. Those buried cards count for the picker's team at the end. You may not bury cards of the suit you're about to call.
- Call an ace. The picker names a fail-suit Ace to find a secret partner — see Calling an ace. Picker + partner (2) play against the other three.
- Play 6 tricks. Player left of the dealer leads. You must follow the suit led if you can; trump is its own suit (see below). Highest trump wins a trick, otherwise the highest card of the led suit. Trick winner leads the next.
- Count & settle. Each side totals the card points in the tricks it won (plus the picker's buried cards). 120 points are in play; the picker's team needs 61. Settle coins, then the deal passes left.
The trump suit
14 trump, in order
Trump beats every fail card. Within trump, this is the pecking order from highest to lowest. Queens outrank Jacks, Jacks outrank the diamonds, and the four Queens (then four Jacks) rank by suit: clubs > spades > hearts > diamonds.
Queens — highest trump (3 points each)
Jacks (2 points each)
Diamonds — lowest trump (Ace high, Ten next)
The Queen of Clubs is the boss of the deck. Nothing beats it. The two black Queens (Q♣ and Q♠) are the most powerful cards in the game — and holding both is what a blitz is built on.
The fail suits
Clubs, spades, hearts
Once you remove every Queen and Jack (they're trump), three short fail suits remain. Diamonds is not a fail suit — all six diamonds are trump. Within a fail suit the order high to low is Ace, Ten, King, 9, 8, 7. A fail card only wins a trick if no trump is played and it's the highest of the led suit.
♣ Clubs
♠ Spades
♥ Hearts
Following suit: if a fail suit is led, you must play that fail suit if you hold one. If a trump is led (any Queen, Jack, or diamond), you must play trump if you can. Out of your led suit? You may trump in or throw off anything.
Card points
120 points in the deck
Point values are identical whether the card is trump or fail — what changes is its power to win the trick. There are exactly 120 points; a side needs 61 to take the hand.
11each Ace
10each Ten
4each King
3each Queen
2each Jack
09 · 8 · 7
Where games are won
61% of the points live in Aces and Tens alone. Capturing or protecting those — and burying point cards safely as picker — usually decides the hand more than counting tricks.
Finding a partner
Calling an ace
What the picker may call
- Call a fail Ace (A♣, A♠, or A♥) you do not hold.
- You must hold at least one other card of that called suit — so you can lead it later to draw the partner out.
- You can't call a suit you're void in, and you can't call the diamond "ace" (diamonds are trump).
The secret partner
- Whoever holds the called ace is the picker's partner — but says nothing.
- Identity is revealed only when the called ace hits the table.
- Everyone else is on defense, even before they know who the partner is.
The called ace can't be smeared
The partner must play the called ace the first time its suit is led, and may never discard it on a different suit. The picker can "call the partner out" by simply leading the called suit.
Burying restriction
The picker may not bury a card of the called suit — you have to keep your link to the partner. (You also obviously can't bury the called ace; you don't hold it.)
No legal ace to call? Go alone. If the picker holds all the off-aces, or is void in every fail suit whose ace is available, there's no partner — the picker plays alone, 1 vs 4. Some tables also allow choosing to go alone on purpose, or the "unknown ace" call (see Options).
Round scoring
Points & coins
After the 6 tricks, each side adds up captured card points (the picker's buried cards count for the picker's team). The thresholds:
61+picker team wins (single)
91+schneider (double)
all 6schwarz / no-tricker (triple)
A side is schneidered when it's held to 30 or fewer (the other side took 91+). Schwarz ("no-tricker") is winning every trick — note you can score 120 points but still only be a single+schneider if the other side stole even one pointless trick. Payouts scale single → double → triple, and the picker always carries double the partner's stake.
| Result for the picker's team | Picker | Partner | Each of 3 opponents | Coins / opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win · 61–90 | +2 | +1 | −1 | 25¢ |
| Win schneider · 91–120 | +4 | +2 | −2 | 50¢ |
| Win schwarz · all 6 tricks | +6 | +3 | −3 | 75¢ |
| Lose · 31–60 | −2 | −1 | +1 | 25¢ |
| Lose schneidered · 0–30 | −4 | −2 | +2 | 50¢ |
| Lose schwarz · won no trick | −6 | −3 | +3 | 75¢ |
Reading the coins
One point is a quarter. A normal hand moves 25¢ per opponent: each of the three loses 25¢, the partner wins 25¢, the picker wins 50¢ — a wash across the table. Double it for a schneider (50¢), triple for a schwarz (75¢).
When the picker goes alone
No partner means 1 vs 4. The picker settles with all four opponents at the same per-opponent rate: a normal solo win is +4 for the picker and −1 for each opponent ($1.00 swing). Schneider and schwarz still double and triple.
House note: these are the common balanced ("quarter") stakes — single 25¢ / schneider 50¢ / schwarz 75¢ per opponent. Some tables make the picker pay extra on a loss or add a leaster ante; adjust the grid to your table and keep it consistent.
Nobody picked
The Leaster
No picker, no partner
When all five players pass, the blind is set aside untouched and the hand is played as a Leaster. There are no teams — it's five solo players.
Fewest points wins
Trump and fail order are exactly the same. But now you want to lose tricks: the player who collects the fewest card points wins the hand.
Must win a trick
You're only eligible to win the Leaster if you took at least one trick. Take zero tricks and you can't win, no matter how clean your pile — this stops everyone from simply dumping.
The blind goes to the last trick
Whoever wins the final (6th) trick adds the two blind cards to that trick's points — which can sink an otherwise-winning hand. So the last trick is the one to dodge.
Ties & payout — set this with your table. Common convention: the Leaster winner collects one unit (25¢) from each of the other four players. If two players tie for fewest points, either split the pot or re-deal — agree before you start. (You can also fold any leaster antes into the next pickable hand.)
House add-ons
Optional rules
None of these are required to play. They're the most common extras — pick the ones your table enjoys and ignore the rest. Anything that "doubles the hand" multiplies the whole point/coin payout for that round.
Cracking (doublers)
Before the first card is led, an opponent who likes their hand may crack to double the stakes. The picker's side may re-crack (×4), and the defense may crack back again (×8). Each crack stacks on top of any schneider/schwarz multiplier.
Blitz
A player dealt both black Queens (Q♣ + Q♠) may declare a blitz at the start of the hand for an extra doubler. Some tables let only the defense blitz; others allow the picker too. Declare it before the opening lead.
Unknown / called ten
Variants for when the picker can't make a clean ace call: call an "unknown ace" (announce a partner exists but keep the suit hidden under the blind), or allow calling a Ten of a fail suit when the picker holds the matching ace. Spells out exactly one of these and stick with it.
Jack-of-Diamonds partner
An alternative to calling: whoever holds the Jack of Diamonds is automatically the secret partner. Simpler than calling an ace, but the partner is random rather than chosen. Pick one partner system per game — don't mix.
Forced pick / "leaster off"
Don't want Leasters at all? Play forced pick: the last player (the dealer, or the player who'd otherwise pass last) must pick the blind. Mutually exclusive with Leasters — choose one.
Mauer / pass penalty
Some tables penalize a player who could clearly pick but "walls up" (mauers) and passes, or charge a small ante into a pot that the next picker's winner takes. Purely optional spice.
Edge cases
Quick rulings
Hearts are led — do I have to play my Queen of Hearts?
No. The Queen of Hearts is trump, not a heart. If you have a fail heart you must play it; otherwise you may trump in or throw off. Same for the Jack of Hearts and every diamond.
Can the partner duck the called ace to stay hidden?
No. The called ace must be played the first time its suit is led, and can never be discarded on another suit. The picker can force the reveal at will by leading the called suit.
Do the picker's buried cards count for anyone?
Yes — buried cards count as points for the picker's team at the end. That's why a picker tries to bury Aces and Tens of a fail suit they're getting rid of. Remember you can't bury cards of the called suit.
We scored 120 but they took one trick — is that schwarz?
No. Schwarz ("no-tricker", the triple) requires winning every trick. Taking all 120 points while the other side wins even a pointless trick is a schneider (double), not a schwarz.
What if the picker has no ace to call?
The picker plays alone, 1 vs 4, and settles with all four opponents at the per-opponent rate (normal solo win = +4 / each opponent −1). See the alone note under Scoring.
In a Leaster, I took zero tricks and zero points — did I win?
No. You must win at least one trick to be eligible. Zero tricks means you can't take the Leaster even with an empty pile. And watch the last trick — it carries the blind.
What does a full game of Sheepshead go to?
There's no fixed target score. With coins you just keep a running tally and settle up at the end of the session. Most tables play a set number of deals — often a multiple of five so everyone deals equally — or simply play for a set time, then cash out the chips.